Hey there, my name is Mehtab and I welcome you to my website/blog. I know you’re probably confused… like, “where am I?… this is a car site thingy”.. well let me explain. This blog, titled “Vancity Exotics” was created as an assignment for school. I have had a deep rooted love for automobiles since a young age, which is why I chose to create a blog about cars when asked to create a blog about something I am passionate about. I used this platform for my previous Publication Course to post my assignments, weekly process posts, essays and of course pictures of the hottest rides roaming our streets.

Moving forward into a new semester, I decided to take another Publication Course in which I have been tasked to create a type of blog post or to comment on a public domain about something I am passionate about. Now I know what you might be thinking like, “is this guy seriously going to make another blog about cars?… what a weirdo”. Well, let me be the first to say NO, I will NOT be doing that, instead I will be writing about something else I am passionate about, technology. In today’s modern day, technology has shifted our world into an unrecognizable place. Communication technologies have had a dominating effect on the lives of individuals, resulting in them becoming more dependent on such technologies to maintain a standard of living. I came across an article written by Yalda T. Uhls and others (cited), titled “Benefits and Costs of Social Media in Adolescence”. This article discusses how social media is intertwined with adolescent development and assess both the costs and benefits of adolescent social media use. The article was very interesting, and I enjoyed reading it, as it resonated with me in many ways. I decided to do some more research in hopes of potentially adding to the ongoing conversation about technology, social media and the following is what I came up with. 

Technology gives us easy access to information and news, through our smartphones, tablets, laptops and other smart devices, overshadowing the more traditional ways of doing things (Uhls, 2017) Before this era of technology and social media, information gathering and the sharing of ideas happened at a much slower rate. The evolution of technology has been beneficial to society, as it opens up a new spectrum of the world. We are able to communicate efficiently, research and gather information we are interested in through online articles and blogs; not to mention, we are able to stream videos, share pictures and expand our knowledge about global issues.

Departing from reality is necessary to achieve the standard of interconnectedness that is the current state of society. Social media has created a lot of opportunities, as it gives recognition to small businesses and brings people from every corner of the world together in instances of crisis and awareness. However, I also believe that modern forms of communication are negatively impacting modern societies by eliminating the need for interpersonal communication skills, and creating an environment that lacks awareness of social surroundings, and lacks a sense of identity. 

Technological advances are highly demanding of an individual’s attention and take up much of our time. Social processes, people, and their social arrangements are seen as factors that collectively promote change and affect our society. Communication technologies cause individuals to disconnect from reality, negatively impacting our perception of the world, making humans less willing to learn by themselves since ‘google knows the answer’, inevitably decreasing effort and promoting dependence. ”Unlike facet-to-face interaction or even the telephone, the internet offers opportunities for social interaction that do not not depend on the distance between parties” (Kraut, pp. 1019). 

Technology is intertwined in daily life, so much so, that escaping modernity is nearly impossible. Regardless of the ease and interconnectivity that communication technologies may provide, it takes away from our perception of reality and our surroundings. With the ever increasing use of technology and social media, there is an increased dislocation of oneself from reality (Connerton, pp. 124). For instance, there is a disjunction between the production and the final product of goods; in that, there is “a telling contrast between the personal signature of the artist, the stamp of the creator, and the anonymity of those in manufactur[ing]e who leave no trace on the product” (Connerton, pp. 125). Technology is both beneficial and detrimental, it all depends on how one uses it and how one misuses it.

_____________________________________________________________________

References:

Connerton, Paul. How Societies Remember. Cambridge University Press, 1989.

Kraut, R, et al. “Internet Paradox. A Social Technology That Reduces Social Involvement and Psychological Well-Being?” The American Psychologist, vol. 53, no. 9, 1998, pp. 1017–1031.

Uhls, Yalda T, et al. “Benefits and Costs of Social Media in Adolescence.” Pediatrics, vol. 140, no. Suppl 2, 2017, pp. S67–S70.

________________________________________________________________________